Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Tory had a frown as she looked at Jason "Are you sure you want to do this?" Jason laughed before giving her a quick hug "We're just going to play some basketball. Don't worry"

Jason spent a few minutes stretching and warming up before turning to Jerome "I'm ready. You want to shoot for it?"

The two of them began shooting free throws but after five rounds of no one missing they decided to change it to three-pointers. But even that didn't end things quickly.

Jerome looked at Jason as they were getting into their third round of threes 'Damn! This kid is a sniper. That consistent shooting form is a telltale sign of a long range bomber.'

After six rounds of shooting threes Jerome finally came out on top. Jerome was already feeling some pressure and all they did was shoot for first possession.

Seeing Jerome's massive body hulking over Jason anybody would say that this was an unfair match. It didn't look like it was possible for Jason to win.

But Jason didn't think about losing. He only had one thought on his mind 'I'm going to stop him. I'm going to lock him down'

Jason passed the ball to Jerome before focusing on every little detail. He noticed tiny changes like the position of his hand on the ball. The weight distribution of his feet. The rhythm of his breathing.

Jerome looked at Jason as he began his own observation 'He has a solid defensive stance. So not only is he outside threat he also seems to be a two way player. I better start off easy. I don't want to hurt him or crush his spirit.'

Jerome started with a shot fake but Jason didn't bite on it. He then jab stepped to the right. Jerome saw Jason fall for it as he took a step to the right.

Jerome began driving to the left but he was surprised to see that Jason was able to beat him to his spot 'He faked it!?'

Jason had pretended to fall for the jab step. He didn't put any weight into his foot so he was able to quickly recover and beat Jerome to the spot where he was going to dribble to.

Jason began bodying Jerome up as he began pressing his tiny frame against him. Jerome didn't want to abuse his huge strength advantage.

He opted to go for a spin move to try and maneuver around Jason. As his body was spinning he felt the ball get heavier before slipping out of his hands.

He abandoned the spin move and looked around to see Jason running back to the three point line with the ball in his possession.

Jerome exploded with a hundred percent of his athleticism for the first time today as he rushed to close out on Jason.

By the time Jason made it back out to the perimeter Jerome had already recovered on defense. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get off a three-pointer.

Jason sized up Jerome 'Crazy bounce, great size, lateral speed that I can't beat, long arm's and good focus. Jesus this is going to be hard'

Jerome didn't get all in Jason's face and press him but he didn't give him a ton of space either. He was ready to defend the drive or the shot should Jason decide to take a three.

Jason began playing out different scenarios in his head. Each one a reflection of what would happen if he tried a different approach. After a few seconds Jason decided to start with some rhythm dribbles.

Left, right, left, right, Hesi, crossover, through the legs then driving to the basket. No matter what Jason tried Jerome was able to stay on his hip.

At this point Jerome seemed to have forgotten that he was one of the best high school players in the country playing against a middle schooler. He was using everything he had in the tank as he defended Jason.

Jerome shuffled his feet as he followed Jason. Jason suddenly came to a stop with a behind the back dribble. He finally managed to build a step of separation between him and Jerome.

Jerome saw Jason starting his shooting motion 'I don't think so Jason!' He planted his foot and jumped towards Jason to block his shot.

But as soon as he was in the air Jason stopped and started driving towards the basket 'Shit! He got me with a head fake!'

Jason knew that he got Jerome with the head fake. He dashed to the basket as fast as he could 'I can do it! The lane is all clear!'

Jason jumped as he got ready to lay the ball in with his right hand. All of a sudden he felt a presence behind him.

Jason tried to adjust mid air. He went for a double clutch. He tucked the ball back towards his body before swinging it to his left side.

But it wasn't enough. Jerome was still in the air by the time the ball left Jason's hand. Jerome brutally spiked the ball towards the ground.

Their bodies collided in the air. Jerome was high up and had jumped with good form so he was able to catch himself and land.

Unfortunately Jason had already compromised his positioning when he contorted his body mid air to change his shot. That combined with the collision caused Jason to hit the ground.

Falling on the hardwood of a basketball court compared with falling on the concrete of a parking lot were two vastly different experiences.

Jason tried to fall as safely as he could. He tucked his chin into his chest as he covered his head with his arms. Tory screamed as soon as she saw him hit the floor "Jason!"

The producer ran to Jason. His face paled as he saw the pool of blood beginning to form under his head "Turn off the fucking cameras! Turn them off!"

He then saw the crowd of people around them. Some people were pulling out their phones "Get those people out of here! NOW!"

Jason's mom and dad were cleaning the apartment. Jason's mom was vacuuming the living room when she felt her phone vibrate.

She turned the vacuum off and answered her phone. It was a man's voice on the other side "Hello is this the mother of Jason Yang"

Jason's dad popped his head out of the kitchen "Who is it baby?" But Jason's mom ignored him. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach "Yes this is she. Can I ask who's calling?"

After hearing what the man had to say Jason's mom was speechless. Her mind seemed preoccupied as she let the vacuum fall and her phone slipped out of her hand.

Tory was sitting in the waiting area of the hospital crying her puffy red eyes out. Tears were streaming down her face. She had her knees tucked into her chest and her arms covered her face as she sat on the chair.

Jerome had a guilt stricken look as he stood alongside the producer "What the hell was that Jerome? I thought you had experience with kids?"

Jerome kept his head down staring at the floor "I-I'm sorry Mr. Giorgio. I don't know what to say. The intensity felt like I was playing in a tournament and my competitive spirit took over. I forgot I was playing against a kid"

If it was against someone more identical in size or stature the collision would not have been that bad. The other person would probably have been able to recover enough to at least land safely.

But because of the huge size mismatch Jason had no chance to try and recover before he hit the ground. And the collision caused his fall to be much harder.

Giorgio was wiping the sweat off his bald head with a white handkerchief 'Jesus! This might turn into a huge problem. We might lose advertisers if we take a PR hit!'

He continued worrying 'I can see the headlines now. TV show intended to encourage youths to pursue their dreams sends young boy to the hospital! We might even get cancelled!'

Jerome hesitated a few times before raising his head "Mr. Giorgio. I know that I messed up but I think we really found something. This kid is special."

Giorgio sighed "He looked good but I don't know if you can say he was special. He's small compared to the other prospects we saw around his age."

He continued "And he seemed ordinary in terms of athleticism. Some of the thirteen year olds we've seen could jump out the gym or move like lightning. While I was watching you two play all I saw was regular kid that knew how to dribble a little"

Jerome was silent for a moment before he decided to speak "I hope you don't take any offense to what I'm about to say Mr. Giorgio. I know that you've seen a lot of kids play because of this show."

Jerome continued "But I have been playing against the top tier talent of every age bracket that I've been in since I was a little kid. And my gut is telling me that this kid is special"

Jerome tried his best to explain "The timing of his dribble is spot on. He knows the best time to execute a move to get the fullest effect. And his dribble selection is insane. He never dribbled just for the sake of dribbling"

Jerome went on "And that's without even talking about his defense. It looks like he's a natural born defender. His feel on that side of the ball is something else"

Giorgio listened intently "Man. You really got some high praises for this kid"

Jerome nodded "I feel like I can confidently say that he is one of the most refined players at his age. And he does it on both sides of the ball! Other kids might be better athletes but I think you would have a hard time finding a better basketball player"

Giorgio heard what Jerome said and started thinking. Giorgio knew Jerome well. If it was any of the other talented kids from the show they wouldn't be so quick to praise someone like this.

But Jerome was unique. Although he was talented and widely hailed as a future star he was incredibly humble. He was the most honest in terms of evaluating talent from other players.

The other players might downplay their peers if they didn't want to acknowledge that someone might be better than them. Or they would even over-hype them in order to set them up for failure.

Giorgio was about to say something when he saw a couple frantically run in. Jason's mom and dad ran to Tory.

Tory looked up and saw them. She started sobbing even harder "A-aunty, uncle I-I'm so sorry. I said that I would watch Jason a-and now-"

Jason's mom pulled Tory into her embrace. She rubbed Tory's back and kissed the top of her head "It's okay Tory. It's not your fault"

Giorgio really did not want to throw himself into the fire but he knew that the fate of the show was possibly riding on his shoulders.

He wiped his head again with his handkerchief before putting it away in his pocket. He took a deep breath before putting the friendliest smile on his face that he could muster as he approached them "Hello. My name is Giorgio"